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Soundwaves generates ambient music from live ocean data. Every five minutes, it pulls wave height, wave period, swell direction, wind speed, gusts, and tide level from NOAA buoys — the same buoys that surf reports are based on — and maps them to musical parameters, synthesized in your browser in real time. Nothing is pre-recorded. The result is a slowly shifting soundscape shaped entirely by conditions at a single point in the ocean.
I built this as a composer and as a surfer. I want the music to create an immediate sonic image — clear enough to give a surfer some idea of what the ocean is doing right now — while also engaging the listener with subtle, constantly changing variations in harmony, timbre, dynamics, and melody. The UI includes photos taken by the buoys themselves, captured from six directions. These images convey a sense of isolation and non-intention that I want the music to amplify.
© 2026 Nathan Michel. All rights reserved.